U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg paid a visit to South Los Angeles on July 8, visiting ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the city of Compton. He also participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly opened “K” line, the new Crenshaw-to-LAX metro line.
His last stop on his visit was “Destination Crenshaw, ” a multi- million-dollar vision co-created by the late rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.
While touring “Destination Crenshaw” and the historic boulevard with Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congressmember Karen Bass, restaurateur Greg Dulan and Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Buttigieg praised the work of local hires and the vision of beautification of the historic Black district. Buttigieg spoke with the president of “Destination Crenshaw” and the development team.
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Harris-Dawson stated, “Nipsey Hussle named the project. He talked about the train being important and being able to capture the eyeballs, the ears, the hearts and the pocketbooks of those that come through. He was the one who said in a meeting, ‘This train was built in a way that Crenshaw would be a pass through. We need to make Crenshaw the destination.’”
The councilman continued, “Later that day, Nipsey tweeted out ‘Destination Crenshaw’ and today we have the $120 Million outdoor people’s museum that will be along Crenshaw Blvd.”
Buttigieg, under the leadership of the Biden Administration, is in charge of spending the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that became law in November 2021, which “Destination Crenshaw” will benefit from.
While visiting the mural on 50th and Crenshaw, the secretary said, “One of the best things about these last couple of days has been meeting workers of color, including Black women who have not historically seen anyone who looks like them on these construction sites, who had the opportunity to get these good paying jobs, often union jobs. So, we are very excited about the opportunity there.”
Since its inception, HireLAX has trained over 250 apprentices — many of them women and people of color who had struggled in the past to find good-paying jobs — and prepares them for not just jobs, but also careers that will pay well, often with union positions in construction, carpentry, plumbing, and more.
During the tour, Rep. Bass highlighted the impact and input of Black lawmakers stating, “The Congressional Black Caucus led the effort to make sure that jobs, small businesses and opportunities would be available for African Americans. “
While in town, Secretary Buttigieg also paid a visit to Los Angeles International Airport. He was joined by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Airport Commission President Beatrice Hsu and others where he discussed upcoming improvements at LAX and the Long Beach Airport .
Both airports are expected to receive multimillion-dollar grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which includes a $1 billion national program funding 85 airports nationwide, of which LAX will receive $50 million and the Long Beach Airport will get $10.6 million. The grants will help pay for ongoing and new infrastructure projects at both airports over the next five years.
